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i been playing basketball sense i was 9 years old

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i started liking basketball when one of my roommates brought me to watch her play ever sense there i started liking basketball

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Animoto turns your photos and video clips into professional video slideshows in minutes. Fast, free and shockingly simple - we make awesome easy.

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Design and share beautiful flyers just like this one!

Spread the word with an online flyer. They're easy to make and impossible to mess up :)

Try it now

by: Alma Najera

3 possible careers for this passion

How long can you be a referee?

What days do you referee?

How old you have to be one?

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Design and share beautiful flyers just like this one! Spread the word with an online flyer. They're easy to make and impossible to mess up :) Try it now by: Alma Najera How long can you be a referee? What days do you referee? How old you have to be one?

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Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.

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highlights of kyrie best moments

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Kyrie Irving's Best Crossovers and Handles with the Celtics

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what makes him like basketball

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My favorite leisure activity is playing, watching, reading, really anything to do with basketball. Basketball is by far my favorite thing in the world. A basketball court is where I feel most at home, and it is the one place on earth I can be where I know what I'm doing and what I'm talking about.

It's fairly popular in the US (it's the playoffs right now), and its athletes are extremely polarizing and recognizable, because it's the one sport where an athlete's face is always exposed, not covered up by a football helmet, baseball cap, or hockey mask.

My favorite time and place is anywhere and anytime. I prefer indoors, although it can be played outdoors, and some even prefer it that way. The classic way that people play is often in a driveway at home, but the best is always against someone on a court.

I started playing basketball because of my original favorite player, Shaquille O'Neal. He was a huge, unstoppable guy. One who was able to do the things that the smaller players did.

So one day, when I was 11-years old, I decided to go outside to the family basketball hoop and take a shot. The basket was originally for my sister, so this was my first time ever shooting a basketball. I will never forget that the first shot I ever took was a perfect, nothing but net. Swish. It felt amazing, and I've been in love with this sport ever since.

As far as maintaining my personal identity or personal relationships, someone else's understanding or even appreciation of basketball isn't all that important to me. I learned a long time ago that very few people are going to have the passion for this game that I do, or even understand half of the things that I see (and I'm well aware of how much a novice I truly am compared to actual basketball experts) when I watch a basketball game. I've always understood that in this area, for the most part, I am alone. Especially coming from the state of Texas, where football is king.

When I play basketball, I feel great, even though I'm not the best of players. When I do good things on the court, I know it's because I can make up for my lack of athleticism with being a student of the game. As I said earlier, it's the one place on earth where I am in my element. I don't worry about school, or family, or problems. I think about whats in front of me, and how I can get the basketball in the hoop.

My obsession with basketball is strange for some people to figure out. I don't fit any of the stereotypes of people who fall into the line of work involving basketball. I am a large, hispanic male who has had football and the Dallas Cowboys indoctrinated in him from a very early age. I even played football in high school, as opposed to basketball, because I was a better football player. I let the pressure of football get the better of me (a decision that me and my left knee still regret) for the sake of my self esteem.

As I've gotten older, I'm thankful that I've never gotten over this "phase", as some thought I would. I am pursuing a degree with which I hope to work in basketball in some capacity, whether it be coaching, scouting, rehabilitating, or anything I can do really. Playing, watching, and reading about basketball fills me with a sense of enjoyment that I truly do feel that very few people can match.

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My favorite leisure activity is playing, watching, reading, really anything to do with basketball. Basketball is by far my favorite thing in the world. A basketball court is where I feel most at home, and it is the one place on earth I can be where I know what I'm doing and what I'm talking about.

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two great basketball players completing with each other

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Stephen Curry vs Kyrie Irving AMAZING Duel Highlights (2018.01.27) Celtics vs Warriors - MUST WATCH

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why do people play basketball

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That's the question a high school sophomore in Connecticut asked kids in youth leagues all over his town in an effort to update data in a 20-year old scientific study. How would you answer? What do you think was the top response kids - both boys and girls- gave this young researcher?

"At a time when sports tutors seem as plentiful as piano teachers and high school games are routinely nationally televised, Peter Barston has learned something important about youth sports," this article begins:

The survey is a single page listing 11 reasons children might have for playing sports, including the laid-back (to have fun, to make friends) and the purposeful (to win, to earn a college scholarship). Like the Michigan State researchers, Barston instructed the Darien players to assign points based on the importance of the reasons for a total of 100.

From the mound of data he gathered, Barston found a striking pattern. No matter how he categorized the responses, the most important reason youngsters gave for playing sports was the same: to have fun. That was the top response from football and basketball players, from boys and from girls, and from players in each grade from fourth to eighth. In the basketball survey, 95 percent of boys and 98 percent of girls cited fun as a reason for playing, nearly twice the number who mentioned winning.

Students: Tell us what sports you play and why you play them. How important is winning to you? What do you think adults should understand about kids and sports? Since Mr. Barston hopes other kids will do similar surveys in their hometowns, how would you predict young players in your area would respond if they were asked?

Students 13 and older are invited to comment below. Please use only your first name. For privacy policy reasons, we will not publish student comments that include a last name.

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That's the question a high school sophomore in Connecticut asked kids in youth leagues all over his town in an effort to update data in a 20-year old scientific study. How would you answer? What do you think was the top response kids - both boys and girls- gave this young researcher?